Private funds for the public good beyond tax and fee revenue is great and should be encouraged. However, as in school funding, tying private funds to specific items can have the effect of singling out prosperous neighborhoods and directing more resources their way. In effect, the City runs a fine line of subsidized private R&D at the expense of the public (assuming their ‘contributions’ are fully tax deductible).

I think a fairer way to handle such transitions is for the city to maintain a list of similar, prioritized projects throughout all neighborhoods. Such projects would share a general R&D fund to which all private donations would be directed and dispersed. That way the city becomes a convener and not simply a pass-through.